Section 3
Advanced Features

 
Introduction

This section provides help on the more advanced features of the HSC Forums to enable efficient and effective use of a forum. It includes instructions on how to:

    • Filter your messages to restrict what is displayed;
    • use an alternative, "printer friendly" way to view a forum by displaying the complete posting (including the message content itself), using the View All function;
    • select which forums you wish to have listed by using the Hide Forums function; and
    • use the Summary function to obtain statistics (number of – messages, new messages, unread message ) relating to all the forums you are a member of regardless of whether you have hidden them.

Filters

You can Filter the messages to be displayed by selecting criteria from the drop down boxes and radio buttons (including keywords typed in the filter box) along the top of the Forum and then press Go. This temporarily restricts the messages displayed based on the selected criteria. If you are threading (see Thread – Basic Features) the messages, only the threads where the first message meets the filter criteria are displayed. Otherwise, all matching messages are shown.

From the Filter: menu select the criteria:
    1. From the drop down selection box
      show
      don’t show      .
    2. From the drop down selection box
      all
      new
      read
      unread
      attachment
    3. messages with from the drop down selection box
      subject
      sender
      date
      message
    4. that contain radio button selection
      anything
      this –       type a keyword in text area
    5. Click the Go button.

Note: The next time you visit the forum your messages will be filtered based on the last filter criteria selected.

Default: The original filter criteria is:

Show, all, messages with Subject, that contains anything

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View All

View All messages of the Forum shows the complete detail of each message including the message text. You can use filter options (see Filter) to restrict messages displayed. Using View All does not allow you to Reply to a message, however you are able to view Attachments. Your sort options are carried through to View All.

WARNING: Viewing all of the messages and their content at once can take a long time to deliver depending on whether the messages are filtered and how many messages the Forum contains. The intent is for printing – offline, etc.

To View All messages showing complete detail:
  1. Click on the View All button on the top right corner of the page.

  2. Select whether you wish to filter the messages
    • Use my current filter settings
      • The Filter options need to have been previously set (see Filter).
    • Do NOT filter the messages – display every message of the Forum.
  1. Click the View All button.
  2. Scroll (using the scroll bar on the right hand side of the page) through the messages.

  1. View Attachments by pointing to the file name and Clicking the link.
  2. Click the [Finish] link located at the very bottom of the messages (scroll to the bottom) to return to the Forums normal view.

Use View All to Print messages showing complete detail:

    1. Follow steps 1 to 5 of "To View All messages showing complete detail:"
    2. You are now able to print the complete listing of messages (minus any messages restricted by filtering), by selecting the print option of your browser.
    3. Click the [Finish] link located at the very bottom of the messages (scroll to the bottom) to return to the Forums normal view.

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Forum

By default, all the forums you have access to will be listed in the drop down box at the bottom left hand side of the page, forums that you have hidden (see Hide Forums) will not show up in this list. This list will include all the current subjects you are enrolled in and any general forums that are available at the time.

Select a Forum from your list:
  1. Select a forum from the drop down box located at the bottom left hand side of the page.
    Most modern browsers will take you directly to the forum, but if this does not happen – step 2.

  2. Click the Go button next to it.
    The new Forum will now be displayed.

Hide Forums

You may find that your "list of available forums" contains forums that you do not wish to view all the time. You are able to select these forums and hide them from the list. The hiding of a forum does not affect your membership to the forum, nor any email notifications (see Email), etc. In fact the only thing affected is the display of your list of available forums. Hidden forums may be un-hidden at any time.

Hide Forums from your list:
  1. Click on the Hide Forums link at the bottom of the page.

  2. Select the forum/s you wish to hide.
  3. Click the Save button.

Un-Hide Forums from your list:
  1. Select the forum/s you wish to un-hide.
  2. Click the Save button

Note: You can’t hide the "Technical Help" forum.

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Summary

You are able to get a Summary of statistics for the forums you are currently a member of.

This Summary contains information on:
      • how many messages a forum has;
      • the number of new messages; and
      • the number of unread messages.

Summary of the properties of a forum:
  1. Click on the Summary link at the bottom of the page.

  2. A new page is displayed showing the statistics

  3. Click [Finished] to return to the forum.

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